Bruthanism
The Bruthan faith is a monotheistic religion practiced exclusively by the Dwarfs. It teaches that the world and all reality, including other planes and dimensions, were formed and shaped by a single god, Brutha. This figure separated material and mundane beings from magical and supernatural beings in differing planes until the "Disordering", an event when the dwarfs rebelled against the ordered nature of the world. Following this event, Brutha departed from the material plane, and allowed magic and supernatural beings to enter the world. The Dwarfs claim this is where many of the races of Deuban originate. A branching associate faith called Tomerianism, which split from Bruthanism due to the teachings of the prophet Tomer, is disavowed by the dwarfs and it's adherents are decried as heretics. Teachings A great deal of Bruthan religious teachings focuson the lost majesty of the dwarfish people, before the introduction of magic to Deuban. The focus, however, is not on reclaiming their lost heritage or transcendent position in the world, but instead on how the dissatisfaction that the dwarfs lived with in such utopian times lead them to up end the natural divine order and bring on the "Disordering". The lesson that dwarfish children are taught is one that emphasizes not only how far the dwarfs have fallen, but also how far they still could fall; therefore they are taught above all to not to risk further decline through ambition or rebelliousness lest they invoke the ire of Brutha once again. The world is how Brutha wishes it to be, and any attempt at significant change is a violation of Brutha's will. In addition to these social lessions, a great many parables are taught to the dwarfish adherents. The clergy often regale them with tales of a dwarf who neglected their end in oaths, or was dishonest or trusted an elf too readily and thus were laid low by divine providence. Rites A weekly prayer is held in the Zealot-Priest's Hall, an allocated religious space in every dwarf hold. After the prayer, the clergy lead the dwarfish faithful in a procession around their hold, ritually inspecting every entrance and exit to and from the dwarf hold and blessing it. Finally, the procession meets in the center of the hold, and the faithful declare themselves content, reciting the 5 blessings and disperse. 5 Blessings #Hold #Home #Family #Faith #Rock Hold is the blessing of the community, Home is the blessing of having positions and a bed to sleep in, Family is the blessing of one's parents, faith is the blessing of Brutha, their Clergy, and the Vestigials, and Rock is the blessing of the miles of stone between them and the disordered world. Disordering This is a mythological event that the dwarf claim accounts for the presence of magic and multiple beings in Deuban. It occurred when the dwarf declared themselves capable of making a better world than their creator, Brutha. Specifically, they wished to be able to make reality through words and thought alone. Brutha granted them this by permitting magic to enter the world via the Elf-Dream, a plane that existed in Brutha's sleep. Brutha then cursed the dwarfs with their short stature, before departing from material reality. With the collapse of the Elf-Dream into the material world, Elves, Humans, Demons and a myriad of other beings entered the world in a addition to magic. The dwarfs found that without any kind of training, their ability to perform magic simply wrecked havoc across their civilization as the merging worlds allowed simultaneous contradictory events to occur. Distraught, they retreated under the mountains and far away from the surface, swearing off any kind of magic or enchantment. Vestigials Vestigals are surplus children born into a family. Each parent has a child allocated to take their place in the hold, and any more are declared Vestigals due to their superfluous position in the hold, and are sent to the Zealot-Priests of the Bruthan Faith to become holy warriors. They form the main defense of the remaining dwarfish territory, patrolling it's long dark cavernous tunnel system and of most importance, maintaining sentry on Mount Deagann. The Dwarfs believe that Brutha left the material plane via the peak of Mount Deagann, whose peak to this day has never been sighted due to being obscured by clouds and the mountain's immense size. After a century or more in service, a Vestigal earns the right to begin a new family in a dwarf hold that has room for them. Otherwise, their service ends upon thier deathbed.